Conventional communication systems conventionally have two options when a call is received at a subscriber's communication device. Specifically, the call can be answered or the call can be allowed to go to a voice messaging system. Additionally, conventional systems allow certain options to control when these actions occur. For example, a subscriber may forward his phone to voicemail to prevent interruptions. Also, some centralized phone management systems allow for different messages to be generated based upon the time and/or date, such as an after hours message may be played when a business is not open. Further, conventional systems also allow subscribers to select specific ring tones to identify the source of an incoming call. Based upon these customized ring tones a subscriber may answer or ignore a call.
Although there are many circumstances where these options are sufficient, there are also situations where a more personal and/or contextually accurate response would be preferable. These situations may be more prevalent in conjunction with mobile terminals that allow access to subscribers in a variety of situations. For example, a fixed terminal (e.g., a land line phone in an office) has limited situational context when the subscriber is available to receive a call (i.e., the subscriber is present or not present in his office). However, with mobile terminals, subscribers may have the ability to answer the call in variety of places/situations (e.g., meeting, theater, or restaurant) where they do not wish or are not permitted to answer the call.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to allow for more options for responses when a call is received at a subscriber terminal.